"background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 1px solid rgb(224, 224, 224); cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 77px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 110px;" /

type='html'>

FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2012 |

The Italian automotive industry is renowned not only for supercar-making companies like Ferrariand Lamborghini, but also for its carrozzerias likePininfarina and Bertone, which design and engineer cars for other automakers as well as manufacture their own limited production models.
The Indian automotive industry, on the other hand, is best known as the country that manufactures the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, which may or may not lose the title to theBajaj RE60.
While Italy is safe for now (…), India will soon have its own sport car thanks to DC Design’s Avanti that was launched at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo.
Founded by former GM designer Dilip Chhabria, DC Design is mostly known for its one-off prototypes. The Avanti, however, is a production ready sports car that will be manufactured at the company’s brand new plant at Talagon near its existing Prune facilities.
“Every country which has written its name in the pantheon of automobile manufacturing has invariably distinguished itself with sports cars by its own nationals and I thought that India rightly needs to be in this exclusive club”, said Chhabria. “The design is completely our very own as is the engineering and also the production process. Type approval and on-road tests would follow soon”.
Chhabria added that DC Design plans to manufacture 300 units of the Avanti in 2013-2014 and, if all goes well, increase annual production to four figures.
As its creator admits, India’s first supercar “doesn’t reinvent the wheel” as far as its conception and manufacturing process is concerned.
Like all small-volume manufacturers, DC Design will use parts from various carmakers, especially in the powertrain and suspension depaetments.
The prototype that was unveiled at the 2012 Auto Expo is constructed around a lightweight but rigid spaceframe chassis. It features unequal-length wishbones and coil over shock absorbers on both axles, 19-inch wheels with 255/35 front and 295/30 rear tires and 330 mm ventilated disc brakes with AP Racing calipers.
It is powered by a mid-mounted 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost engine sourced from Ford and tuned to deliver 240HP and 366Nm (270 lb-ft) of torque. Thanks to its compliance with Euro 5 emissions regulations it can also be exported, while a slight change in the engine mapping will make it compatible with the oncoming Euro 6 regulation.
Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a Ford-sourced six-speed manual gearbox, while the Avanti will also be optionally available with a dual-clutch PowerShift transmission.
Although 240HP combined with a dry kerb weight of 1,562 kg (3,443 pounds) isn’t exactly supercar territory, the Avanti will be priced at a reasonable Rs 30 lakh, or around US$56,000 at the current exchange rates.
Later on, it may also be offered with a turbocharged Honda V6, which with an output of around 400HP should seriously improve performance (and, presumably, increase the price accordingly).
Live photo credits: Motorbeam

PHOTO GALLERY

type='html'>

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2011 |

Last week Ginetta announced that it would soon unveil a new 310HP sports car with a carbon fibre body. Well, we have to admit the littleBritish car company has kept its promise by launching the G60, the first mid-engine model in its range since the G32 in 1989.
The only thing the new G60 shares with its predecessor is the engine layout. The G60 boasts carbonfibre tub and body based on that of the Farbio GTS, which itself is based on the 2002 Farboud GT.
Ginetta, which last March acquired Farbio, has redesigned the car with the focus being on reducing its weight. Apart from its carbonfibre construction, Ginetta’s new model has no steering assistance, servo-assisted brakes, ABS or electronic stability control systems. As a result, it tips the scales at just 1,100 kg (2,425 lbs) or 400 kg (881 pounds) less than the GTS.
The naturally-aspirated 3.7-liter V6 comes is sourced from the Ford Mustang and is rated at 310HP. Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a Quaife limited-slip differential, while the suspension uses wishbones on all four corners.
Although 310HP is nothing to brag about in today’s sports car arena, the low weight allows the G60 to achieve a sub-4.0 seconds 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) sprint time and a top speed in excees of 165mph (265 km/h).
Moreover, the G60 will be more exclusive than most rivals, since Ginetta plans on manufacturing just 50 units.

PHOTO GALLERY

type='html'>

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013 |

At the New York International Auto Show, Volvo revealed that it will add the V60 wagon to its U.S. lineup in early 2014. The announcement was made by Doug Speck, Volvo Cars’ senior vice president marketing, who added that pricing and specifications will be announced at a later date.

"The V60 builds upon our wagon heritage, and it's a beautiful evolution in design and direction forVolvo," said Volvo Cars of North America President and CEO John Maloney. "Many consumers will be glad to see the addition of this exciting sports wagon to the Volvo lineup in America. And this time, we've added sophistication with the dynamic driving performance of a sedan."

In New York, Volvo is displaying the V60 R-Design, which is a world debut for the design package, also available for the S60 sedan and XC60 crossover. All three models were restyledearlier this year, receiving a more understated front fascia that drops the auxiliary lights positioned between the headlamps and grille, both of which have been redesigned.

There are also newly sculpted front and rear bumpers, different exhaust pipes, optionally available 19- and 20-inch wheels, and revised tail lamp graphics.

In Europe, the Volvo V60 is available with four diesel engines, ranging from 115 PS to 215 PS, and four gasoline units, ranging from 150 PS to 304 PS (T6 engine). When fitted with the R-Design package and the Polestar performance option, the T6 engine develops 329 PS.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

type='html'>

MONDAY, APRIL 08, 2013 |

Only a few hours ago, we shared a teaser videoof the upcoming 2014 Maserati Ghibli in which the Italian carmaker promised to drop the first images of the car later this week, ahead of its world premiere at the Auto China 2013 in Shanghai on April 20.

Apparently, they didn't check for…a leak, as the Czech team over at Autoforum (in case you didn't notice the red logo) are laying claims to the first official shots of the production Ghibli. While we can't be 100 percent certain at this time, our initial impression is that they're the real deal.

We've added photos of the new Quattroporteafter the jump so you can compare the styling of the two cars for yourself, but in our eyes, the Ghibli looks very much like a shorter and more compact in general, version of the larger Maserati with an even lower and more angry looking front end.

The dashboard also looks similar but has more contemporary and aggressive details and trim, which was to be expected since the Ghibli aims at a comparatively younger crowd and will be cross-shopped by buyers of the more powerful versions of the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, as well as the Audi A7 Sportback, BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe and the Mercedes-Benz CLS.

We don't have any official information of the new Ghibli in our hands yet, but from what we know, it should measure somewhere around 4.8 to 4.9 meters long and be offered with turbocharged V6 and V8 gasoline engines.

Shout out to Martin S. for the tip!

2014 MASERATI GHIBLI

2014 MASERATI QUATTROPORTE